The present invention relates to gas turbine engines, and in particular, to stator vanes for use in gas turbine engines. Gas turbine engines typically include one or more compressor stages as well as one or more turbine stages, each with rotating rotor blades and stationary stators. In some gas turbine engines, a stator assembly includes a stator airfoil extending between two shrouds.
Such stator airfoils typically include two ends, and can be connected at one or both ends. Such connections are typically rigid connections to hold the stator airfoils rigidly in place. Such rigid connections can cause the stator airfoils to experience high stresses at certain stress points, such as 12,000 psi (pounds per square inch) (82,737,087.5 pascals) or more. These high stresses can cause such stator airfoils to fail over time. Stator airfoils can be made with high performance materials in effort to withstand these stresses. However, such material can be undesirably expensive to manufacture and can also be relatively heavy, adding undesirable weight to the gas turbine engine.
Stator airfoils can have specific shapes designed for use in a particular stage or at a particular location in a particular stage. If a stator airfoil is attached at an incorrect location, it can negatively affect performance of the gas turbine engine, for example, by reducing efficiency of the gas turbine engine or causing undesirable vibrations that can damage the gas turbine engine.